The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani watches his seventh inning home run against the Minnesota Twins at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Thursday, May 10, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Although Shohei Ohtani will not be ready to be in the Angels’ lineup as a hitter on Opening Day, he could begin swinging a bat within two or three weeks.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler said on Thursday that Ohtani’s recent follow-up was encouraging, and the two-way star has been cleared to resume strength training on his surgically repaired right arm.

Sign up for Home Turf and get exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.

Once Ohtani has regained sufficient strength, he can begin taking swings, Eppler said. Although Eppler had no timetable for that to occur in Ohtani’s case, it is expected to take less than three weeks, based on other players’ rehab timelines.

The first workout for Angels pitchers and catchers is Feb. 13, and Ohtani is expected to be participating in camp then, even though he can’t throw.

Eppler said that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Tommy John surgery on Ohtani on Oct. 1, had encouraging news at Ohtani’s follow-up appointment last week.

“The appointment went very well,” Eppler said. “Dr. ElAttrache was very pleased with his elbow range of motion, his strength and his scar mobility.”

Ohtani will not be able to pitch in the majors until 2020, but the Angels are expecting him to be their designated hitter for most of the 2019 season.

When, exactly, that will begin remains unclear. They had been saying for months that Opening Day was unlikely, and Eppler said the recent appointment confirmed that.

The Angels will learn more each week about how quickly Ohtani is recovering. Eppler said they’ll be cautious because of his unique circumstances – rehabbing from Tommy John surgery as a pitcher while also trying to be a hitter. Eppler said Ohtani won’t add more than one new element to his rehab each week. For example, if Ohtani makes a change in his hitting regimen, he won’t add to his throwing program in the same week.

Jeff Fletcher has covered the Angels since 2013. Before that, he spent 11 years covering the Giants and A's and working as a national baseball writer. Jeff is a Hall of Fame voter. In 2015, he was elected chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.